The Crimson War: A Space Opera: Book Three of The Shadow Order

by Michael Robertson

  No taller than Seb, it had blue eyes, huge red lips, and shock white skin.

  Where it had walked in with its attention on the fire, it suddenly turned to Seb for the first time and stopped dead—or stopped moving forward at least. It continued to bob and weave on the spot, swaying like an underwater plant.

  A shake of his head to clear the fog from being hung upside down and Seb saw stars in his vision. Surely this creature didn’t exist. It had to be a figment of his now deranged mind. Any time in the company of the degenerates by the fire—especially while being hung upside down for so long—would be bound to send anyone insane.

  The creature’s head nodded rapidly as it weaved from side to side. It looked like it wanted to speak, its large red lips moving but no sound coming from them. It pointed at Seb with a long finger, which twisted like a worm, and its eyes widened.

  The gang by the fire watched on in silence.

  “Y-you,” it said. Its voice rang shrill in the tight space and it giggled. “You! The chosen one. You are the chosen one.”

  Despite his current predicament, Seb released a sigh of relief. At least someone knew why he’d come into the sewers. As much as he wanted to call out the little rat who’d kept him strung up, he watched the leader of the group instead. It rushed at him, its awkward movements coming forward in a swarm of limbs.

  Seb flinched as he anticipated the creature crashing into him, but it stopped before that happened. Somehow, the deranged thing managed to halt just centimetres away from him.

  The creature leaned down and turned its constantly shifting head almost upside down. Like the others, it had a face coated in fecal matter, especially around its jaw, and it stank like they did. “You,” it said again, this time in a low hiss that rode its rancid breath. “You’re the chosen one.”

  The smell of the thing ran up Seb’s nostrils and he did his best to ignore it. Before he could respond, the creature threw its long limbs in the air and turned on the others. Its voice had previously been weak and reedy, but it turned into a thunderclap when it shouted, “WHY HAVE YOU TIED HIM UP?”

  Seb flinched at the sound, the walls of the cave seeming to shake with the creature’s roar. He turned away when the creature faced him again for fear of receiving the same brutal blast. But it returned to its low reedy whisper. “So sorry. So sorry. Let us cut you down.”

  The small creature who Seb had originally thought of as the leader rushed over and drew his curved silver sword. He cut the rope on the ground, which had been tied through a ring to anchor him.

  The wind rushed through Seb’s ears as he hurtled down. Only a short fall but he hit the ground like a sack of rocks, his head crashing onto the hard surface first. If he’d had a headache before, it paled compared to the throb running through his skull now. “Ow!’ he called and glared at the little rat, his jaw clenched, his fists balled.

  While the creature ran around the back of him and cut his bonds free, Seb blinked, the swell in his head stinging from where his body adjusted to being the correct way up.

  The rat backed away, eyeing Seb as if fearing for its life.

  Seb rubbed his wrists and ankles as he got to his feet and glared at the ratty creature the entire time. He drew several deep breaths to calm himself down, but it served no purpose. Before he could control it, his world had slowed down and the little beast’s weak spot shone out just above its left knee.

  Seb kicked out at the creature and watched it fold to the ground.

  After a second, a tingle ran through his hands to look at the thing as it lay out cold from the blow he’d dealt it. It took all his effort to refrain from putting his hands on it.

  The perpetually twisting leader looked at Seb, and Seb said, “Sorry.”

  It shrugged. It clearly didn’t care. At least, Seb thought it shrugged; many of its movements could be interpreted as a shrug. It then dropped down onto one knee, looking like it could topple at any second. The same reedy whisper it had addressed Seb with since it entered the cave slipped from its puffed lips. “Chosen One.”

  The rest of the group followed its lead, and as Seb stretched the aches from his body—his world spinning from getting used to standing upright again—he looked over at the odd bunch of shit-covered creatures.

  “This is why I came here,” Seb said to the apparent leader in front of him. “I saw another one of your lot who called me the chosen one. What do you mean by that?”

  “May I stand?” the creature asked.

  Seb shrugged, but before the others could get up, he scowled at them. “But only you.”

  If his demand bothered the others, they did a good job at hiding it.

  “Even if I knew why you were the chosen one,” the leader said, wincing as it twisted from side to side, “I wouldn’t be able to say. It’s your journey and you need to find the answers.”

  Heat flushed Seb’s face and he balled his fists. “What does that even mean? I’ve been dragged here, hung upside down, and threatened by that little rat, and now you won’t tell me anything?”

  “I’ll tell you what I know.” The creature continued to weave and twist, its large red lips moving very differently from the sounds Seb heard. Even some of the sewer dwellers had language chips in them. It must have been why he couldn’t understand the others.

  “Your life is very important. No matter how many times we tried to get away from you and the prophecy, you kept coming back up. We’ve known about you for decades now. Maybe even a century.”

  “What? I haven’t been alive that long.”

  “No, but your path has always been there, waiting for the right being to be born onto it. The child of the special one, you’ve been destined for greatness since birth.” Every time the creature spoke, its voice hissed through the caves as if the walls whispered with it.

  “What do you know about my mum?” Seb said.

  “I don’t. Other than you’ve come from greatness. We’ve slaughtered animals and held rituals in your honour. We knew you’d come to us at some point. There’s a poison spreading through this galaxy and you’re the antidote. That I know.”

  “What does that mean exactly?”

  “That’s all I know.”

  For the briefest moment Seb considered swinging for the strange creature like he had its underling, but he kept his temper. Maybe it had told him all it knew.

  “Can we feed you, Chosen One?” the leader asked.

  Even if the servers hadn’t been covered in the waste from the elevated city, Seb would have said no. The charred reek of the poor beast lifted a slight heave through his stomach.

  The thought of Bruke and the others flashed through Seb’s mind. Where only minutes ago he’d given up on helping them, he could do something about it again. “Thanks for cutting me down,” he said to the leader.

  The leader nodded.

  “Had you not arrived, this band of degenerates would have eaten me.” When Seb scowled at the collection of freaks and creatures by the fire again, each of them stared at the ground. “But no harm, I suppose.” He rubbed the lump on the top of his head. “Other than my head.” He rubbed his wrists. There seemed little point in listing all his pains. “I need to go now.”

  Before any of the creatures could say more, Seb walked past the leader, picked his backpack up from where it lay in his path, checked he still had everything in there—torch, blaster, flammable pebbles, lighter—and headed down the dark tunnel the leader had just emerged from.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Just the thought of the backpack resting against him made Seb’s skin crawl. How many of the sewer dwellers had touched it with their filthy hands? Maybe it would be fine, but it could quite as easily be crawling with disease like most of them no doubt were. He’d wash it as soon as he got a chance.

  After a few minutes of walking, Seb heard the monotonous hum of the sewer dwellers strike up again. The unrelenting sound of it bored into his brain and scrambled his thoughts. It took a lot of strength not to go back there and knoc
k out every one of them. That would shut them up and maybe stop them capturing and eating other beings.

  Now far enough away from their cave, Seb stopped, slipped his bag from his shoulders, placed it on the ground, and undid the zip. He stuck his hand inside, flinching in case they’d put something in there he hadn’t expected. But he found no surprises and, after shifting the plastic pot of flammable wax to one side, he found his torch.

  When Seb flicked the light on, he saw the end of the tunnel just a few metres away. It had a small crack leading outside into the larger network of sewers, much like the one he’d entered through.

  Totally disorientated from his experience, he had to assume he’d come to a different gap because he saw no markings in the ground or animal sacrifices.

  The gap stretched a little wider than the one he’d entered through. So wide in fact, Seb managed to squeeze through it with his backpack still on.

  Outside in the larger space, Seb rubbed the pain in his ankles and wrists. Now he had time to focus on them, they stung worse than ever. He’d felt guilty after knocking the ratty creature out, but now he truly felt the pain they’d inflicted on him, that guilt eased. He should have hit the little rat harder.

  The sound of rushing water beside Seb somehow comforted him. Compared to where he’d been for the past few hours, the spacious tunnels seemed like a much better place to be. Especially as he’d got used to the reek of shit.

  Although, regardless of how soothed he felt, he didn’t have the first clue of which way to go, and who knew when one of the huge squid creatures would come for him again? What a waste of time it had been to come back to the sewers. After being strung up for hours, bound to the point where he now had rope burns on his ankles and wrists, and with a pounding headache clattering through his skull, he still had no more information than what he’d entered with. He would have been better off not coming at all. On top of that, they’d nearly killed him and he’d witnessed an innocent creature get slaughtered.

  Seb swept his torch across the space. Everywhere looked the same: dark tunnels, dank and glistening walls, pathways running alongside rivers of shit. Then he saw one of the black metal ladders leading up to the elevated city. If he had to lead a revolution, the ladders would be crucial for getting up there. But how would he find them again?

  Not knowing which way would be the best direction to head in, Seb had to pick somewhere. For no other reason than going on a hunch, he turned left from where he stood and walked into the darkness.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  After ten minutes or more, Seb didn’t know whether he’d made progress or walked in circles. Everywhere looked the same in the sewers. He’d turned left and found a point where the paths drew close. He leapt across and then turned right. Then he turned left again. Then right. Then left …

  All Seb had seen of any use were several more ladders leading up to the elevated city. Or maybe he’d simply passed the same ladder. He shook his head to himself. No, he’d seen two ladders close together at one point. Multiple ladders leading to multiple parts of the city above. Hopefully they’d find them again when they needed to.

  Because Solsans never got any lighter than the brightest night, Seb had no daylight to follow. If the sun shone outside and he got near an exit, he’d see it from a mile away. But with nothing but darkness in front of him, he wouldn’t know he’d found a way out until he got just a few metres from it.

  Then Seb heard it. The now familiar swoosh of rushing water beside him. The sound of something moving through the sewers, something large.

  A quickened heartbeat and Seb peered over the side of the elevated path. When he aimed his torch at the murky water below, his stomach sank. Like standing in a tiny fishing boat and watching an enormous whale travel beneath him, he looked at the huge black body of the squid-like creature and his legs shook. How had it got so close to him?

  The blur started at the edges of Seb’s vision like it always did and his world slowed down. He watched the monster turn in the water so it stared up at him through one of its huge eyes. So black it made the sewers look grey, it had torment sitting deep within its onyx orb.

  Maybe the same one he’d escaped from earlier, maybe not, Seb saw determination deep in its black glare. Something about the way it stared at him told him it had already won.

  It roared beneath the water’s surface, the deep sound bubbling the river of shit, adding more green froth to the coating on the top. Seb’s body lit up with gooseflesh. Before the beast could do anything else, he turned his nervous energy into motion and took off in the direction he’d been heading.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Seb’s world remained in slow motion as he ran from the beast. The rush of the massive creature lifted the sewer water up onto the path behind him. If he slowed down, the flood of shitty waste would take his feet away.

  Although he still had no idea which way would lead him from the tunnels, it seemed more important to turn now than ever. When Seb came to the next left, he took it.

  The sudden sharp turn seemed too much for the beast; it overshot it and crashed into a wall. Bricks fell from the dark ceiling and rained down on the path around Seb. Fortunately, none hit him. The vibration shook the place so hard they must have felt it in the elevated city.

  The monster gave chase again, drawing closer to Seb with every passing second.

  The pathway narrowed up ahead and Seb took his chance to cross over to the other side. This time he turned right at the next tunnel.

  Another loud crash as the creature collided with the wall again. The vibration would have registered on the Richter scale, but it did nothing to slow the creature down. In fact, it had already closed the gap on him.

  By the time Seb made his next sharp turn, the creature had almost drawn level with him. A glance down at the water and he saw the black leather dome of its head break the surface, cutting a path through the river like a ship’s prow.

  Another turn and the monster crashed into the wall again. Seb felt the spray of the filthy water against the side of his face. Because everything moved in slow motion, he had time to think about the reality of what coated him—one of the disadvantages of his gift.

  As Seb ran, he wiped his face with his sleeve and looked ahead. A slight change in the light showed the ground highlighted with silver. Moonlight! The sewer’s exit sat just metres away.

  Exhaustion threatened to turn Seb’s legs to jelly and his lungs burned, but he pushed on regardless. Clumsy as he moved, his torchlight swayed from side to side with his pumping arms.

  The creature had pulled level again, almost as if it toyed with Seb, showing off its ability to destroy him whenever it pleased. It had lifted its head completely free from the water, and it looked at him again with its dark glare.

  The black eye he’d seen beneath the murky water seemed even darker now—it looked even larger too. This creature didn’t belong on this plane. It looked like a denizen of hell.

  Another look at the exit and Seb only had a few metres to go. When he turned back to look at the monster, he saw it had gone. But where?

  Before Seb could think on it any further, a loud explosion accompanied the huge domed black head of the beast rising from the water between him and his way out of there. It filled the tunnel, shutting out any sliver of moonlight. It had the same strands of torn, black skin hanging down in front of its mouth like the other one had. When it opened it, it revealed a large beak inside that looked powerful enough to chew through metal.

  The monster screamed and the rush of air crashed into Seb, stopping him dead in his tracks. When it screamed again, the expulsion of air threw him on his arse, the hard ground sending a shock wave of pain up through his spine.

  Freedom lay beyond the hideous thing and Seb had no way of getting past it. He scrambled to his feet and turned around to head back into the sewer. Then he stopped dead again.

  Because he’d focused all of his attention on the creature in front of him, Seb hadn’t seen the one behin
d. Equally as large, the second one screamed too, its fleshy strands blowing away from its mouth with the vehemence of its yell. The same smell of blood he’d caught from one of the creatures earlier smothered him.

  No side tunnels to escape through, Seb watched the winged creatures rise higher in the sewer, their frames impossibly large for the already cavernous space. A look from one beast to the other and he watched them slowly close in on him. He had nowhere to go.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Sandwiched between the two beasts, Seb looked from one to the other and remained rooted to the spot.

  It didn’t matter if everything moved in slow motion, he had no way past either of them. If anything, his gift simply prolonged his torture.

  Seb couldn’t even pick the smallest one of the two. They both seemed a similar kind of massive. A similar kind of indomitable. If he had to go against either, it made sense to charge at the one blocking the exit. Get past that one and he’d be out of there.

  The idea seemed solid, but when Seb tried to plan a route past the beast, he couldn’t see one. The thing blocked every centimetre of the tunnel. A wall of a monster, its domed head filled most of the available space, its wings taking up the rest.

  And as if the task didn’t seem impossible already, at least six thick tentacles swayed in front of it, ready to slam down on his head and shatter his spine. The beast snapped its beak, showing it could pulverise him if he got anywhere near it.

  Although Seb drew a deep breath, it did nothing to settle him down. Instead, he stood there, frozen and living every painful second of his anxiety, his heartbeat pounding through him as a ticking reminder of how little time he had to make his move. He had no hope.

  But he had to do something. The longer he stood there, the more likely one of the creatures would be to win. He had to give it a go at least.

  Just before Seb could run at the beast by the exit, another shrill scream bounced off the walls of the dark and dank tunnel.